What is CBD? What I Learned From My Experience

Hi everyone!

As a full CBD skeptic, I tried CBD every day for a week and documented how it made me feel. I tried it in edible forms, extract, and even a vapor… But first, let’s cover the basics and answer the questions that I wanted to know before trying it.

What is CBD?

CBD, short for cannabidiol, is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid compound found in either hemp or marijuana plants. Cannabis plants have over 400 different compounds, most not unique to marijuana. But there are around 60 unique compounds found only in this plant genus which are called “cannabinoids” and cannabidiol has been the superstar compound with healing medical benefits and no psychoactive ingredients.

Does CBD Make You High?

Pure CBD should NOt get you high! This is the biggest difference from marijuana and CBD that there is no THC (the majority of CBD products that you can buy have no THC), which is the ingredient that makes people feel “high”. Not only is it the biggest difference but it’s also the most important part when it comes to the medical and legal perspective of CBD vs. marijuana.

From what I learned, technically the THC is what makes a product regulated or not. Since CBD can be sourced from either marijuana or hemp, there are CBDs that do have a percentage of THC and others that have absolutely none.

Is It Legal?

This depends on where it comes from. As mentioned earlier, hemp-derived CBD means no THC effects so yes it is completely legal in all 50 states. Hemp looks just like marijuana so it can seem controversial but is legal with its own regulations.

There are 29 states (including Arizona) that fully legalize the medical use of CBD products derived from hemp or marijuana plants, and 17 states that have specific laws for the THC levels in marijuana-derived CBD.

So when in doubt, look for hemp derived CBD with 0% THC. Make sure the product you pick is third-party tested to make sure it’s pure.

How Does CBD Work?

I won’t get into the technical explanations (because I’m honestly no doctor). But what I have learned from researching and talking to CBD business owners is that it interacts with the endocannabinoid system. This system’s main job is to help the body adapt to outside stressors. Endocannabinoids occur naturally in the body and phytocannabinoids (from plant sources) like CBD mimic endocannabinoids and boost what your body can produce on its own.

There are cannabinoid receptors in the digestive, nervous, immune, and reproductive systems. They regulate things like the neurons being transmitted in your brain and inflammation in the body. Crazy right? I had no idea until I started researching.

What are some known benefits of CBD?

From my reserach I found that there are not clearly defined benefits, every person seems to get different results but these are the major benefits associated with CBD:

Improves mood

Lowers inflammation

It’s known to help with chronic pain

Known to help to reduce stress and fatigue

Why Did I Try It?

I have been open on social media and the blog about my trouble sleeping and stress. Getting to sleep at night (and staying asleep) has been an ongoing battle in my mind, which is running 100mph. Whether I’m stressed from work, trying to juggle wife/mom to-do’s, or even if I’m feeling excited about something my brain seems to never shut off.

There’s a host of issues that can come from not getting a good night’s rest, but the worst for me was the lack of energy and focus in the day. If I really don’t get a good night’s sleep I feel like I’m in a brain fog and it’s hard to be productive at work along with handle the normal day to day activities. I began feeling stressed about being too stressed, pretty destructive right?

So when I talked to a Bloguettes client about CBD for the first time and she assured me 1) it was completely legal 2) it wouldn’t make me feel “high,” I decided to try it out.

My First CBD Experience

Day 1

I put 5 drops of CBD oil under my tongue around 8:00 pm. Late enough to use it for sleep, but early enough to recognize how I felt afterward. Honestly, I didn’t ever feel different and I kept waiting for a wave of relaxation to come over me. That wave never came but I didn’t feel stressed about it and went to bed.

That night I slept 7 hours which was longer than I had in a few weeks.

Day 2

It wasn’t until the next day that I realized the CBD worked and that “wave” I was waiting for wasn’t supposed to come. It’s hard to explain but it’s one of those things I looked back the day AFTER and thought “huh I was pretty relaxed”.

The night before I did get good night’s rest, but it wasn’t as amazing as I thought it would be. So instead of an oil, I decided to try an extract. A CBD extract is a little watery and is supposed to be the most natural and most absorbable form of the leaf with less filtration or added oils.

I drank 5 drops of the extract in a glass of water around 7:00 pm.

I fell asleep within 10 minutes of getting in bed, but never felt drowsy and slept 8 full hours.

Day 3

By now, I was a pretty happy believer. Not only did I get a VERY good night’s sleep, I woke up feeling rested, but I noticed my mind wasn’t running at night. I felt more focused and had an overall sense of wellness.

Today, I tried an edible CBD in a little mint form and took it at 4:00 pm. Again, I never felt like it “hit me” and I went about my day regularly just a little calmer. I also slept great this night.

Day 4 – 7

I took the hemp CBD extract (linked here), and used a vapor pen that is 40.7% CBD and 0% THC once a day before I started working. I love the overall wellness feeling from the extract but I LOVED the immediate effect of the vapor the only way I can describe it is that it allowed me to focus on my tasks and complete them faster. I am usually the person that is working on one million things at one time but I was able to be hyperfocused on one a time without feeling anything extreme like when you drink 3 cups of coffee.

The best way to describe how it affected me is that when I looked back on the week I realized my neck pain was gone, I slept better, I felt relaxed, I felt focused and an overall better version of myself.

Will I Use It Again?

Absolutely! I have continued to use it ever since I first tried it. I just simply feel better and it’s great. I like to put 5 drops of the extract in a glass of water and drink it. You can put it directly under your tongue but I prefer to just drink it in a glass of water.

It really reminds me of the l-theanine effects of matcha that is a “relaxation without sedation”. In summary, it’s a feeling of enhanced wellness.

When I first met Dawn, Founder of Urbal Activ, she told me that CBD should be considered a proactive approach, not a reactive one. Meaning that anyone can benefit from its benefits, not just people that are suffering chronic pain or anxiety and now that I have tried it I completely understand what she means 🙂

What are your thoughts on CBD? Have you tried it? I would love to hear in the comments below!

4 Comments

Thanks for sharing your experience! I agree with you, when I first started using CBD I thought it would be an overwhelming experience of calm – similar to how a high comes over you – its NOT! But in the end it just improves the overall quality of life, and that’s fantastic. CBD cheers to a better night’s sleep 🙂

I’ve had my father on CBD for the last few months and the results have been great. I started him on it after hearing so much good results with CBD for dogs. Now, that might sound bad, haha, as my father does not resemble a dog, but he had the same arthritis pain that many dogs and pets seem to reduce with the use of CBD. So we started him on CBD for his knee pain, and it worked very well, but he’s also sleeping much much better now. Just wanted to share another first experience. Thanks!

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About Lorena

My name is Lorena Garcia and I created Call Me Lore with the purpose of having a place to create and share beautiful content that allows me to express my passion for fashion and all things that I consider beautiful.